Confidentiality of Patient Records

The disclosure of personal information may cause personal or professional problems. Patients depend on physicians for keeping their medical information privately. It is rare for the medical records to remain absolutely sealed, however (Iakovidis, 2015). The main begin breach of confidentiality happens when clinicians share the medical information as case examination. When the medical information is published in some professional journals the patient’s identity is never divulged and the whole identifying data is either changed or eliminated. According to Mohammedi et al (2013), the following chat elaborates the difference between confidentiality and privacy. Comparison Chat: Privacy Vs Confidentiality Basis for comparison Privacy Confidentiality Meaning the habit of being secluded Situation whereby someone is expected not to divulge another person’s information What is it Is the personal right to be lonely It is an agreement between the individuals standing in fiduciary to manage and maintain the secret of important documents and information Concept Limitation of the access of the public Prevents personal documents and information from unauthorized personnel Applies to An individual Information and documents Obligatory No, it is an individual’s choice Yes, when the documents and information is legal and professional Disallows Everybody is disallowed from accessing the individual affairs Only unauthorized people are disallowed from accessing the information The above chat summarizes and clarifies the difference between privacy and confidentiality.

Sourcesof Law on Which the Right of Privacy Is Based Privacy Laws The right to privacy is the concept that individual’s information is protected from public access. The United States Justice Louis Brandeis referred to it as “the right to be left alone” (Richards, 2017). In the United States of America, some amendments protect the right to privacy. The 5th amendment protects privacy against self-incrimination. The 9th amendment says, “Enumeration in the Constitution of particular rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people. ” OpenRecord Statutes and Privacy Statutes Similarities Open record status and privacy statutes are both included in the Constitution and they are protected by the government. They are formally written and several amendments govern them in order to ensure than they are enjoyed and observed by every citizen.

The statutes can be changed through voting; in case the government requires some changes on the open record statutes and the privacy statutes. the open record statutes helps the public to understand a certain information of the government, for example, to show that the government is using funds properly and there isn’t corruption while the privacy statutes are used by individual to understand his/her personal requirements. ConfidentialityStatutes and Ethical Guidelines on HIV/ Aids Information In the United States of America, all medical information is considered confidential and protected by the law. HIV information is always sensitive, therefore, many states in the United States have adopted laws that provide extra protection to the HIV medical records. In this case, in many states the HIV information cannot be disclosed based on the general release of the medical information(Gostin et al, 2016).

A specific authorization for release of the HIV information is only allowed to release the information with a lot of ethics. The law applies to all health care providers receiving Medicaid or Medicare funds, including skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare and personal healthcare agencies, hospices, health care maintenance organization and hospitals. Blackmer (2011) argues that every health care provider is require to write an information to every adult patient on admission, enrollment, and first reception or before the patient comes under the care of an agent or personal care agency. This information must describe patient’s rights to make decision on his/her medication. Generally, the law requires the health care providers to show their transparency to the patients in order to make the patient feel self-determined and confidential.

This is referred to as a living will or the health care power of attorney. At some point, the information may be shared to the concerned personnel, agencies or family member, of the patient if the patient gives the permission, to help the healthcare provider get more information especially when the patient is too sick to communicate his/her issues properly. Difference Professional disclosure standards is usually provided by the physicians after undergoing some examination. The process of examination (investigating the health status of the patient) is usually confidential; even the patient is not allowed to observe it. The physicians always meet the patients and give information about their health. Detailed information and the process of coming out with the results is also provided for the patient.

Living wills and durable power of attorneys for health care are important for the patient to determine their rights and their relationship with the health care providers. The health care providers should observe certain rules when dealing with the patients in order to ensure their privacy and confidentiality References Ackerman, J. M. , &Sandoval-Ballesteros, I. E. L. Comparison of the auditory and visual privacy of emergency department treatment areas with curtains versus those with solid walls.  Annals of emergency medicine, 38(2), 135-139. Blackmer, J. Health care provider obligations in caring for patients with tuberculosis. " JAMA 275. Iakovidis, I. Towards personal health record: current situation, obstacles and trends in implementation of electronic healthcare record in Europe1.  International journal of medical informatics, 52(1-3), 105-115. Linde, H.